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Review: ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ Will Have You Asking, “What Infinity War?”
July 4, 2018Ben MK
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Thanos' snap judgment of the galaxy in Avengers: Infinity War had implications that could be felt in every corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, although you'd be hard-pressed to tell from Ant-Man and the Wasp, a sequel that harkens back to the smaller scale and generally lighter tone of its 2015 predecessor. In Marvel Studios' twentieth feature, we rejoin ex-con Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), who's been keeping a low profile since the events of Captain America: Civil War. It's been two years since Scott took part in that no-holds-barred superhero melee, and since then he's been placed under house arrest, confined to his San Francisco area home where he has nothing but time to spend with his young daughter, Cassie (Abbie Ryder Fortson), and to work on building a roster of clients for the private security company he founded with fellow ex-cons Luis (Michael Peña), Kurt (David Dastmalchian) and Dave (Tip 'T.I.' Harris). Enter Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), who make a sudden reappearance in Scott's life after an extended absence, during which time the father and daughter duo have been hard at work on a way to bring Hope's mother, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), back from the Quantum Realm, where she's been trapped since Hope was a little girl. Summoning Scott to their lab, which Hank can conveniently shrink to the size of a piece of carry-on luggage, they enlist his help to pinpoint Janet's exact location within that universe within our own universe. But little do they realize that a third party, the mysterious Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), has a keen interest in what they're about to uncover. What follows sees Scott once again donning the Ant-Man suit, as he and Hope, who now has her own winged, super-powered suit and goes by the name Wasp, must contend not only with Ghost, but also with a dastardly criminal-type named Sonny Burch (the always reliable Walton Goggins), who has his own reasons for wanting to get his hands on Hank's tech. But with Janet's life on the line and the clock working against them, you can bet that Scott and Hope aren't going to let them do so without a fight. Directed by Peyton Reed and scripted by Rudd, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a briskly-paced adventure that's just as much fun as the original. And with the outcome of Infinity War still weighing on the minds of many moviegoers, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Set more or less prior to the events of Infinity War, the film largely gets away with ignoring the serious ramifications of Marvel's climactic epic. However, if you really want to know how the heavy hand of Thanos touches these characters, you need only to stick around for the end credits. Otherwise, Ant-Man and the Wasp delivers everything moviegoers have come to expect from your typical Marvel blockbuster. Suffice to say, it doesn't up the ante as much as the studio's last three films, but it's the perfect fun diversion for MCU fans who can't wait to find out what happens in the next Avengers installment. Ant-Man and the Wasp releases July 6th, 2018 from Walt Disney Pictures. The film has an MPAA rating of PG-13 for some sci-fi action/violence. Its runtime is 1 hr. 58 min. |
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